A Chance in a Million
by Kaleidoscope Dodgson
Summary: What if Ianto survived the 456 attack? What if Jack didn't know? And what happens when he finds out? A post CoE story.
1. Chapter One

**Author's Note: **Okay this is the second Torchwood multi-chapter fic I've written. This is still a WIP and I've only just picked it up after several weeks/months of neglect. But since 'Soulmates' is being so well received, I thought I'd start posting this one too. I hope you like. Ravena x

**Synopsis: **What if Ianto survived the 456 attack? What if Jack didn't know? A post CoE story. Rated for occasional use of strong language.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Torchwood or any of it's associated characters.

* * *

**A Chance in a Million**

**Chapter One**

"_I love you."_

"_Don't. Ianto? Ianto? Ianto, stay with me. Ianto stay with me, please. Stay with me? Stay with me, please."_

* * * * *

Ianto Jones forced his eyes open, slowly blinking away the crusted sleep which had gathered in the corners. He winced at the bright lights on the ceiling above him and narrowed his eyes to a slit until he got used to the light. _Where am I?_ He turned his head slowly to one side. _Not in my flat. A hospital? _The sound of a steadily beeping machine penetrated his thoughts, giving away his location. Ianto swallowed and snaked out his tongue to lick his dry lips. As his eyes adjusted, he took in a more detailed view of his surroundings. He was alone in the room, four white walls surrounding him, one with a window and one with a door. The window had shuttered blinds over it, blocking out any view of the outside. He had no idea what time of day it was. There was a frosted window on the door and he could hear the sounds of people walking past. An IV drip was inserted into the crook of his arm. Ianto followed the line of the drip to the bag hanging by the bed. It was full of clear liquid but he didn't know what it was. In fact, he had no idea why he was in the hospital, which formed a sense of panic and the bleeps on the machine next to him sped up. He tried to shout out for somebody, but when he tried to speak nothing came out. He throat was too dry. Ianto swallowed and tried again but managed nothing more than a small whisper. He went back to staring at the ceiling and tried to work out what had happened. Someone would have to come in eventually.

* * * * *

Gwen Cooper sobbed into the arms of her husband, twisting at an awkward angle to get around the large bump on her stomach. The lights from Jack's transportation into the sky had faded from the air and there was nothing left except a cool breeze and the soothing sounds of Rhys' heartbeat as she rested her cheek against his chest. Rhys stroked her back as she cried and after a couple of minutes, guided his wife back down the hill. He was certain the exertion wasn't good for the baby but when Jack had told them where to meet him, he hadn't been able to stop her. So he had settled for going with her instead. Jack Harkness had surprised Rhys a number of times but even so, he never expected to see Jack vanish before their eyes. He felt angry at the man for just leaving. They hadn't seen or heard from Jack since the 456 were destroyed and then he walks back into their lives only to say he's leaving, possibly forever. The man was such an arrogant twat sometimes.

On the way home Rhys stopped off at Gwen's favourite pizza place. Neither of them felt like cooking. They had bought a lovely little three bedroomed house together and were half way through converting the smaller bedroom into a nursery. They had painted it yellow because they had decided not to know the sex of the child before birth. Rhys couldn't help but smile as he carried the pizza back to the car, where Gwen had chosen to wait. He couldn't wait to see his child. He wasn't sure he would make a fantastic dad, but he knew he would love it unconditionally. He got into the car to find Gwen staring out of the windscreen up at the sky. He sighed to himself and held out the pizza box for her to hold, bumping it against her arm when she didn't respond.

"Sorry," whispered Gwen, taking the pizza hold and placing it carefully on her lap, "I was just thinking..."

"About Jack," interrupted Rhys. "Gwen, let's just go home, have pizza and get some sleep. Jack will be back. He always comes back."

"Yeah," Gwen leaned over to rest her head on his shoulder and Rhys kissed it. When she sat back up, he started the engine and pulled out of the parking space.

* * * * *

"Oh my god," a female voice made Ianto jump. He had been tracing the cracks in the ceiling, drawing patterns with his eyes. He didn't know how long he had been awake but he felt it was at least a couple of hours. He turned his head to see a stunned looking nurse standing in the doorway to the room. He hadn't even heard the door open. "You're awake!" She exclaimed, before sticking her head back into the corridor and telling someone to go and find Doctor Hague. "How do you feel?" She bustled over to his bedside and checked his IV before giving him a smile and stroking the hair off his forehead.

Ianto tried to speak but found his tongue had now stuck to the roof of his mouth. He made a smacking sound with his lips and her eyes widened.

"Oh right, yes. Let me find you some ice chips," she vanished from the room and returned minutes later with a plastic white bowl and a male doctor. The doctor waited until the nurse had fed Ianto some ice. He closed his eyes in appreciation as the cold fragments melted in his mouth and he swallowed the liquid gratefully. After a few small handfuls the nurse placed the bowl on a bedside table and stood back.

"Good evening," said the doctor, "I'm Doctor Hague and I've been looking after your condition."

"Hello," Ianto said. His voice was still croaky but the fact he could make a sound was a definite improvement. He paused, "my condition?"

"You've been in a coma," explained the doctor, pulling a small torch out of his pocket and switching it on. He flashed it back and forth across Ianto's eyes until Ianto blinked and moved his head.

_A coma?_ Ianto felt suddenly sick, "for how long?"

"Six months," the doctor sat back and replaced the torch, obviously satisfied with whatever had had been looking for, "what do you remember?"

Ianto looked back at the ceiling and thought. He remembered standing in front of a large glass tank, a glass tank which held an alien. The 456. He remembered talking to it and then pointing a gun at it. He remembered Jack threatening it and then... Jack... Ianto's eyes widened suddenly. He had breathed in the air, and Jack had caught him as he fell. Jack held him whilst he told him how he felt, and as everything faded away, Jack kissed him...

"Oh god..." whispered Ianto and he turned to look at the doctor, "I survived the poisoned air."

"Very good," Doctor Hague nodded, impressed, "there's obviously nothing wrong with your memory."

"Where's Jack?" Ianto asked. He couldn't imagine Jack being far away, not with him lying in a coma in hospital.

The doctor and nurse exchanged glances.

"Who's Jack?" asked the doctor.

"He's my..." Ianto paused, "he's my friend. I would've thought..."

"No one's visited you since you've been here," Doctor Hague rested a hand on Ianto's where it lay on the bed, "I'm sorry but we don't even know your name. You were brought it when it was discovered that you were in fact breathing. A soldier brought you in but without any ID on you we didn't know who you were. So we couldn't contact anybody. No one's reported a missing person matching your description since you've been here. I'm sorry."

"Jack didn't bring me in?" Ianto frowned then his face altered into one of shock, but he couldn't explain to the doctor why. Instead he told them his name and where they could find his family. After some more checks, they left him alone.

"Shit," Ianto breathed to the empty room, "I revived."


	2. Chapter Two

**Author's Note: **Big thank you for your reviews and alerts :) I'm hoping to update this fic weekly at the moment. If I get back into writing the story, this could continue for a while but we'll see how I get on xx

* * *

**A Chance in a Million**

**Chapter Two**

"Ianto?" Gwen pushed open the door into the room. She looked horribly pale and Ianto sat up in concern. It was the next morning and Doctor Hague had agreed he was well enough to receive visitors.

"God, Gwen," Ianto said, wishing he was strong enough to get out of the bed. Apparently six months of being in a coma would seriously weaken your muscles. Who knew.

"Is it really you?" Gwen crept forward, her hand stretching out before her. She felt like she was seeing a ghost. She had looked at Ianto's dead body lying under the sheet. She and Jack had wept together over the loss. She had pinched herself so many times since receiving a phone call the night before that she had bruises. She had waited until Rhys left for work before driving herself to London, to the hospital where Ianto was being kept. She couldn't bring herself to tell him, in case there had been a mistake.

"Yeah, it is," Ianto smiled at her, suddenly feeling slightly embarrassed at being dressed in only a thin hospital gown, "I suppose it's a bit of a surprise."

"Yeah... but... how?" Gwen reached the bed and touched his arm, assuring that he was real.

"Jack kissed me as I died. The contact must have transferred some of his life energy, enough to bring me back. But it had a delayed effect. From what the doctors said, I was presumed dead until someone spotted that I was breathing. They're calling it a miracle," he gave a small laugh, "they can't understand how it was missed when I was removed from the building and are putting it down to the soldiers not paying attention and assuming everyone was dead."

"And you revived?" Gwen touched his face. A tear rolled down her cheek, "oh Ianto," she rapped her arms around him and they hugged tightly. Ianto closed his eyes he pressed his face against his friend's shoulder. He struggled not to cry himself. Gwen sniffed and pulled away and took hold of his hand instead, "and... and how are you?"

"Doing as well as could be expected, better actually," Ianto said, "the doctor says that apart from the coma there was nothing wrong with me. So as soon as I'm strong enough, I can leave."

Gwen nodded, pulling herself together enough to speak, "have you told Rhiannon and her family yet?"

"No," Ianto shook his head, "I gave the doctors your name when they asked for family members to contact. I wanted to speak to you first. I'll phone Rhi when I'm out. She doesn't need to worry about visiting me in hospital."

"If you want I could..." Gwen started but stopped when Ianto shook his head.

"I should do it," he said. "But enough about me, tell me about you. How's... things," he nodded towards the bump and Gwen smiled.

* * * * *

Captain Jack Harkness was sitting on the edge of a cliff which over looked a deep purple ocean whose waves tipped in pink. Two small orange suns were setting across the horizon, the night sky creeping up behind him. It was eerily silent as sound didn't carry on this planet. He was alone. A sea breeze ruffled his hair and it smelt like marshmallows roasting over an open fire. He smiled, a memory forming in his mind. He and Ianto had roasted marshmallows once. Until they got distracted by the romantic nature of it just being them and a fire in the middle of a field and the marshmallows on the sticks they'd rested near the fire had melted into black pools of goo. Jack and commented that it had been the heat from their bodies as they made love which had melted the sweet cubes rather than the fire. It had only been quick reactions which had stopped Ianto from planting some of the black goo in his hair. Jack laughed softly to the open ocean. They had had fun when Torchwood wasn't taking over their lives. But the laughter soon faded and his mood turned sombre.

Ianto. Months had passed but Jack still woke up every night to the image of Ianto's lips whispering those words to him, his beautiful eyes closing for the final time as his body went limp in Jack's arms. Every night he woke up screaming in loneliness, tears sliding down his face. The guilt of taunted the 456, of allowing Ianto to come with him, stayed in his heart still. Nothing he did on Earth made it any easier which is why he knew he had to leave. There was a whole universe out there. Something, somewhere, would have to make things better. Else there was no point anymore. He thought about Ianto and Stephen every day, every minute of every day. The look on Ianto's face as he accepted his death, the look on Stephen's as he trusted his "Uncle Jack" and the look on Alice's as she walked away from him in the hospital. These images haunted him always.

"Jack?" A voice came up behind him. He didn't turn round. "Jack, are you coming for something to eat?"

"I'm not hungry, Volta," said Jack. The red alien sat down next to Jack. Volta was a four foot tall female from a species known as Ospara. She was the co-pilot on the spaceship Jack was travelling on. The ship hosted a variety of creatures from all races to make it run. Jack had come into contact with the Ospara many years before and had called on a favour to have the ship come close enough to Earth for him to join their crew. Everyone had a job. Jack was an assistant navigator, his vast knowledge of the universe both past and present coming in handy.

"You should eat," persisted Volta, even though she knew it would be useless. She had known Jack less than two days and already understood that he carried a great grievance in his heart. Something he wouldn't share with anyone. But that didn't mean he should suffer any further because of it.

"Maybe later," Jack smiled at her then turned his gaze back out to sea.

"Okay, remember we lock the ships doors in two hours," Volta scrambled back to her feet and left Jack sitting alone. She glanced back over her shoulder as she walked away and shook her head. Jack was going to need a lot of healing.

* * * * *

Ianto smiled as Gwen explained the hi's and lo's of being pregnant. He lazily pointed out that there seemed to be more lo's and was she sure she wanted the thing? It earned him a friendly punch and he hugged her. He could see how happy she was. And he was glad that someone had walked away from the 456 incident with a life intact. As the conversation died down he sat back against the pillows. He was feeling tired but didn't want Gwen to go. He didn't want to be left alone with his thoughts.

"Gwen," he asked suddenly, "where's Jack?"

Gwen's smile fell from her lips, replaced by a sorrowed look in her eyes. Ianto knew he wasn't going to like what she had to say.

"Ianto," Gwen couldn't meet his eyes. She stared at the floor, twirling patterns in the dust with the toe of her shoe, "Jack's... gone."

"Gone? What do you mean 'gone'?" Ianto sat back and blinked away sudden tears. This was Jack all over. Ran when he was needed most.

"He's gone off to explore the universe or something," Gwen said, "me and Rhys, we watched him go. He was transported or something, I don't know. But he's gone. We don't know when he'll be back."

"No..." Ianto covered his face with his hands before pushing them up over his hair. His eyes were red. "And there's no way to get in touch with him."

Gwen shook her head, "I'm sorry, Ianto."

Ianto turned away from his friend. _How could you leave me, Jack?_


	3. Chapter Three

**Author's Note: **It's that time of the week! I'm not sure why I picked Thursday to update but I suppose it's as good a day as ever! Thank you very much for your comments and support :) as this is still I'm still writing, finding people commenting and following encourages me to keep it up :) so thank you x

P.S. I've changed my FF user name. Sorry if that's confusing! I just wanted one a name which is part of my adult years and not my teenage ones :)

* * *

**A Chance in a Million**

**Chapter Three**

It was another five days before Ianto was allowed to leave the hospital. He had gotten up out of bed each day and walked around, at start with the help of the nurses and then on his own, reminding his muscles how to work and getting some strength back. He had switched onto solid food and real drink twenty-four hours after waking up. He still hadn't told Rhiannon anything and that was his first port of call once they got back to Cardiff. He didn't know whether to ring her or just show up on the door step. Gwen and Rhys came to take him home when he knew he was being released. They discussed it on the drive back and in the end it was decided that Gwen should go with him and go in the house first to break the news, whilst Ianto would wait in the car with Rhys.

"What are you saying?" Rhiannon Davies sat on the edge of her seat, the cup of tea in front of her forgotten as Gwen explained why she was there.

"Ianto's alive. And sat outside in the car," Gwen nodded towards the window. Rhiannon looked outside and saw a strange car parked in front of the house. She could see the outlines of two men.

"But...how?"

"There was a mistake. Ianto didn't die in the building. Somehow he survived," Gwen reached over to take hold of Rhiannon's shaking hands, "but without any ID on the body he couldn't be identified and with all the mess of the clear up afterwards, the fact that someone had survived sort of slipped everyone's minds. He only woke up last week."

"Why didn't he call?"

"He didn't want to worry you, what with him being in a hospital in London," Gwen bit her lip, "do you want me to go and get him?"

Rhiannon nodded, staring blankly at the table. Gwen squeezed her hand and got up, pushing up her bulky figure with the help of the arms on the chair. Minutes later Rhiannon looked up at the sounds of two people coming back in. Gwen entered the room first followed by a figure Rhiannon thought she would never see again. She stared at Ianto, frozen in place. Then she jumped up, ran across the room and wrapped her arms tightly around her brother. After a second, Ianto returned the gesture, kissing her hair.

"I'm okay, Rhi," he whispered, holding her tight, "I'm okay."

"God, Ianto," she said, her voice muffled as she pressed her face against his chest.

Ianto swayed gently as he held his sister, calming her down until she pushed herself away, tear tracks clear on her cheeks. She brushed them away hurriedly and headed towards the kitchen, "do you want a drink or something?"

"Coffee would be fantastic," Ianto followed her, pointing Gwen to a chair in the living room, "you should rest," he told her before going after Rhiannon.

"I'm sorry," he said, leaning against a counter top as Rhiannon filled the kettle with water.

"You've got nothing to be sorry for," she said, her back to him, "it's just... those damn government officials! If they'd even bothered to check anything all this wouldn't be happening. If they'd even thought to make a note that someone survived... I'd've known months ago. We'd've transferred you to Cardiff, visited, been there when you woke... shit!" She slammed mugs onto the counter and pressed her hands against the surface, her breathing hard. "It's been so hard, knowing you died. I know we weren't close but damnit Ianto you're my brother. I just..." a sob paused her rant and Ianto strode across the kitchen. He massaged her shoulders slowly, relieving the tension he could feel there.

"It's over Rhi," he said, "crap happened but it's okay now."

Rhiannon closed her eyes and let Ianto relax her. It felt like months of tension and rage and just spilled out in one short rant. It felt good.

"Gwen," Ianto handed her a cup of green tea when he and Rhiannon went back into the living room, "why didn't anyone wonder where my body went? The doctors said no one even tried to look for me. Didn't I get a funeral?"

"They... they burned all the bodies from the 456 attack," Gwen admitted, running her finger round the rim of the mug, "apparently they were worried that the poison in the bodies would contaminate something... I don't really understand the official announcement. More government cover ups. They didn't want any of the bodies having an official autopsy in case questions were asked and so they burned all the bodies the next day. Had a mass funeral for everyone. It was... pretty shit to be honest with you. You were lucky to revive when you did."

"Yeah," Ianto sat down, mulling over his lucky escape. He held a cup of steaming coffee in his hands and sipped at the hot liquid. "Did you go?"

"Sorry," Gwen looked confused.

"To the funeral. Did you go?"

"I didn't," Rhiannon admitted. She smiled weakly at her brother, "I didn't think the kids would be up to it. Too young really and after all the mess with everything... you know... we didn't want to let them out of our sight. They filmed some of it so we watched it on the telly instead."

Ianto nodded, feeling slightly hurt but not wanting to show it, "that's understandable. No point in getting them upset."

"I went," Gwen offered, "sort of felt like I should."

"Did Jack...?" Ianto had to ask.

Gwen's silence answered it for him. He looked away.

* * * * *

Jack lay on his bunk on the ship. They were in mid voyage to a refuelling point in a nearby solar system. Everything was set to auto-pilot so the members of the ship were free to so whatever they wanted. Many would get together in the ships games room, just relax and chat. But Jack preferred to retreat to his small room. He didn't feel he would be much company. He was getting a name for himself as withdrawn and sullen. He talked when talked to and answer questions as long as they weren't too probing. There were times when he laughed at a joke or offered a safe ear for someone who needed to talk. But those times were already rare, even in the week he had been on the ship. When he was with others, he felt he was forgetting, and he had made a promise to a special Welshman that he would never forget him. When he was alone, Ianto was pretty much all he thought about. It hurt, but it eased the guilt knowing he was keeping his promise. It wasn't much, but it was something.

Jack ran his fingers over his vortex manipulator. A smile graced his lips as he remembered Rhys' obviously irritation that he had had to have it mended. There was no force like Gwen when she was being stubborn and he suspected that a pregnant Gwen was definitely someone you wouldn't want to mess with. He was sorry he wouldn't be there for the birth of their child. He would've spoilt it rotten, to annoy Rhys if nothing else. He could have been a real Uncle Jack rather than a pretend one.

A knock came on his door and he called out for them to enter, pulling down the sleeve of his shirt over his vortex manipulator. Volta entered the room, carrying a tray with two mugs on it. Jack smelled the strong tea like drink which was common on the ship. It was tangy and bitter but oddly nice. It smelt like a warm summer's day. He smiled at her and sat up, moving so she could join him on the tiny bed.

"I know you don't want company, but maybe a drink?" Volta offered him one of the mugs once she was settled.

"Thank you," Jack gave her a sincere smile. They sat in comfortable silence whilst they sipped at their drinks. Volta was the only person on board who had managed to work her way under Jack's armour. Meaning that she knew he was an immortal and from the 51st century originally. That was all she knew but it was more than anyone else on the ship did.

"What were you doing?" She asked suddenly, deciding now was a good a time as ever to find out more about the mysterious human.

"Thinking."

"About what?" When Jack didn't respond, she tilted her head to one side, the braids of her hair falling over her shoulder, "or should I say, 'who'?"

Jack stared into his mug, watching his reflection distort in the dark liquid, "someone very special to me," he said, finally.

"Tell me about them," Volta pushed herself backwards so she was leaning against the wall. Jack copied her and sighed, a smile already on his lips before he even started his story.

"His name's Ianto Jones..."


	4. Chapter Four

**Author's Note: **Sorry about not putting up the new chapter yesterday! I was out of the house most of the day (from roughly 9am in the morning until 3am that night - looooong day!) So have a Bank Holiday present instead :) Hope you all have a very Happy Easter, and if you don't celebrate, have a great weekend. Kal x

* * *

**A Chance in a Million**

**Chapter Four**

"I like it," Ianto commented when Gwen showed him the new Torchwood office; a rented unit on the edge of a small row of shops near Cardiff Bay. It wasn't that much bigger than the Tourist Office in the old Hub.

"Shut it," Gwen said, catching the sarcasm in his voice, "it was the best I could do. After the 456 were dead, Jack vanished, appearing only to tell me he was leaving the planet, leaving me with no details on how I should do about rebuilding the Hub. I doubt I could just pick someone out of the yellow pages to do it."

"No, I do like it," Ianto tried to feign genuine excitement, "it's... cosy."

"There's a big dusty basement underneath," Gwen told him, "you'll feel right at home."

"I didn't spend that much time in the archives," Ianto sat on the edge of the desk when Gwen took up residence in the large leather office chair behind it.

"You did," Gwen stated, "so yeah, this is the desk. We have a phone line now too. It was kinda hard to stay out of the spotlight once the Hub blew up so we registered a phone line if people need to get in touch. We do get the odd prank now and again but most calls are genuine. Plus I managed to find this when Rhys and I went hunting through the debris after it was all over," she reached into a desk drawer and pulled out a black device. "It basically detects rift activity. We're still working on getting a similar system onto the computers but me and Rhys aren't that technologically minded."

"Maybe I could have a go," Ianto suggested, taking the device off her. He turned it over and peered at the buttons on it but didn't press anything.

Gwen shrugged, "I'm sure it wouldn't hurt," she took the device back from Ianto when he held it out and returned it to the drawer, "you always were better at the computer things than I was anyway."

"I suspect I still am," Ianto said, picking up on the past tense in Gwen's sentence. He raised an eyebrow at her when she looked embarrassed and decided to cut her some slack. "So, do I get a desk? Or am I confined to the basement?"

"We'll get you one," Gwen said, "today if you like. We can order one in. And if you hang around, you'll get to meet the new members of Torchwood."

Ianto tilted his head, quizzingly.

"Well I couldn't run it on my own could I?" Gwen defended herself, "It's not like I could run anywhere. And like Rhys would let me leave the office or the house unless it was vitally important anyway. I needed someone to catch aliens."

Ianto shrugged, "I suppose not."

"Right then, lets order you a desk and a computer."

* * * * *

The spaceship shook violently, throwing Jack from his bunk in surprise. It was late afternoon and he had slept all day after talking to Volta all night. She had been good for him, letting him talk without interruption and Jack had slept properly for the first time in months. He blinked at the rude wakeup call and brushed his hair out of his eyes in confusion. The floor was trembling and the handful of possessions he owned were busy rolling off the box he used as a bedside table. He stood up, reaching out a hand to steady himself against a wall. He reached for the door before pausing, deciding it wouldn't hurt to put on some clothes first.

Outside his room Jack found the hallway to be a hive of panicked people running back and forth, shouting commands at each other in a variety of languages, only a few of which Jack understood.

"Meester Harkness!" Came the call from a green alien with six arms and a tail. Jack was unsure of its name as its accent sometimes made it hard to understand its English, "Meester Harkness! You needed with Captain. He need your help!" Jack nodded in acknowledgement and ran towards the cab of the ship, where the main controls were and the Captain's quarters. He dodged several people on the way without breaking pace, ducking under a large pole someone was carrying without even questioning what on Earth they were doing with it. It took him mere minutes to break the length of the ship. He opened the door to the cab without knocking.

"Jack, thank you for coming," the calm tone in the Captain's voice didn't match the look of terror in his eyes, "we seem to be in a battle with another race. We've tried contacting them but they won't respond. The word is that you've got an almost unmatched knowledge of alien races. Can you help us?"

"I can try," Jack didn't make any promises but stepped forward to the console, taking the seat the assistant captain vacated for him. He looked at the other ship through the windows on the front of the cap. He frowned, recognising the unusual design but unable to place it in his memory. 100 plus years of living through different centuries and all over the universe provided quite a lot to shift through at short notice. The tension in the cap grew as Jack frantically tried to place the familiar vessel.

"Jack?" Ventured the Captain when he didn't say anything. His fear was clear in his voice. He had never been attacked so viciously or without reason before and had little idea how to get out of it.

"You have to stop the ship," Jack said his memory finally serving him, "these are the Fryre race. They are incapable of seeing a moving object. Have the ship freeze in position and they'll think you've just vanished."

"You're mad!" The Captain gasped, "if we stop we'll be blown apart!"

"Trust me!" Jack span in the chair and gripped the Captain's forearms. He didn't sat anything more but the sincerity and desperation in his eyes was all the Captain needed to trust the ex-Time Agent.

"Alright," he reached out to the ships ignition and disengaged the engine. There was a low humming, following by a second of silence, before the noise of the ship's crew running about filled in the gaps. The two men sat side by side and waited, both praying that Jack was right.

* * * * *

Ianto hit the ground with a groan. It was evening and the rift detector Gwen had saved had gone off. She'd handed it to Ianto, showing him how to use it to narrow down the problem area. It was hardly a sat nav but it was better than nothing at all! He was now out with ex-PC Andy and someone he'd never met until today called Jamie, a young 20-something university dropout. She had had enough of following the path her parents expected her too and decided to do something else. Gwen had advertised for new members in the paper and Jamie had been the perfect candidate. She was young and inexperienced but willing to learn, try new things and not ask questions unless they were needed. She was also pretty damn good at kickboxing.

A brown creature, which could only be described as a rabid squirrel which had been out in the rain too long, had arrived in Cardiff through the Rift. From what they could initially tell, it was on it's own. Something they were all happy about. It didn't appear to have any form of understandable languages, unless its kind communicated in snarls and saliva.

Ianto rolled over onto his hands and knees and coughed. Why he thought it was a good idea to come out fighting barely a week after waking up from a coma he didn't know. He was already starting to feel the ache in his muscles. With a deep breath he forced himself to his feet and turned back to face the fight. Jamie was keeping the creature busy with a series of well aimed kicks and punches whilst Andy danced around the pair with a gun, trying to get into a position where he could comfortably shoot the creature and not his co-worker.

Suddenly the alien got a grip on Jamie's arm, twisted it viciously behind her back and threw into Andy, causing both of them to stumble to the ground. It then turned and began its advance on Ianto. The Welshman swore under his breath and looked around for something, anything, he could use as a weapon. Why did the alien have to appear in the middle of a bloody field? Suddenly he saw something glint in the grass and ran to it. A lead pipe. He picked it up and turned back to face the alien only to see the alien leap at him. In his suddenly panic, he dropped the pipe and ducked, falling when a wet fist struck him in his back.

Rolling onto his back and coughing, Ianto closed his eyes as he saw the alien aim a swipe at his head. _Jack _he pleaded silently. _I need you._

* * * * *

In the spaceship, everyone had stopped moving. It was almost as if a telekinetic wave had passed through the vehicle, telling everyone to stay still and silent. The firing outside stopped and the ship became motionless. Jack bit his lip as his heart began to slow. He hadn't admitted this to the Captain but he was unsure if it was the Fryre who couldn't detect movement or whether he'd mixed them up with something else. It looked like he had been right, something that calmed his frazzled nerves. The Fryre weren't known for being a friendly group. Large rodent type creature with small pointy ears, bushy tails and looked like they'd been swimming in mud. They had a vicious temper for anyone who wasn't from their home planet and weren't afraid to take on even full sized space ships like the one he was travelling in. Not a good race to come across.

_I need you._

Jack nearly jumped out his seat when he heard Ianto's voice echo through his mind. He cautiously looked around the room but saw no one except the Captain and Assistant Captain. A tremble ran through his body. Ianto was dead. He had watched him die with his own eyes, felt the still of his heartbeat with his own hands, captured his last breath with his own lips. He was hearing things, which was not a good sign. Jack closed his eyes and stayed in his seat. He knew he couldn't move until they were sure the Fryre were gone. He waited to see if he would hear anything else, but the only sound was the steady thud, thud, thud of his aching heart.


	5. Chapter Five

**Author's Note: **How on Earth is it Friday again already? I'm sure we've skipped a day. I meant to update yesterday as usual and well... I have very little concept of what day it is anymore. I did have a little diary but I've lost it. (ARGH!) So now I have no idea what I'm meant to be doing. Anyway, thank you all for your lovely lovely comments. I must apologise for the fact this is only a short chapter. This was the last one I wrote before I took a 4/5 month gap in writing the story. So rather than try and pick it up from the end, I just started a whole new chapter (which will be chapter six) and continued from there. Hope you still like though :) Kal x

* * *

**A Chance in a Million**

**Chapter Five**

Ianto scrambled around in the dirt and at the last second his fingers enclosed on the metal pole he had dropped earlier. He grabbed hold of it and swung it as hard as he could at the drooling alien about to rip his head off. It connected with a sickening thwack and the alien dropped to the floor, blue blood oozing from its smashing skull.

"Ianto!" Jamie ran over, followed by Andy, "are you okay?"

Ianto groaned and sat up with a cough, "I think so." He moved his arms and legs and twisted his neck, feeling a satisfying crack from his spine. Everything seemed to be working. Andy offered out a hand and Ianto took him, accepting the help to his feet. He looked at his clothes is disgust. Why must he always return home covered in grass stains and mud?

"We need to take it back," Andy said, eyeing the dead alien with distaste. "I'll bring the van up and we'll put it in the back."

Ianto had been amused that Torchwood now operated from a black transit van. Until he had been forced to take a ride in it. The ride over had been rough to say the least. Gwen had told him that when they'd found the stolen SUV, it had been smashed to bits and was in no condition to be used for a car boot sale let alone anything like what Torchwood needed it for. They'd removed anything salvageable from it and had the remains crushed. Since they had nowhere to keep a vehicle, they'd decided to tone it down and go for a non-committal van which could be parked on the streets overnight. Ianto had already decided to find a rentable garage or something for them. He had liked the SUV.

Jamie and Ianto didn't really say much whilst they waited for Andy to back the van onto the field, something which was no doubt illegal but none of them cared at that moment. They'd rather use their Torchwood credentials to get out of a fine than try and drag the smelly, bleeding, heavy alien through the night.

Ianto kicked the ground as they waited. He didn't know what to say. He wasn't entirely sure what he role was anymore. Previously he had found himself taking on Tosh's role after her death along with his usual duties but after everything was destroyed there were few things to achieve, little computer work to do and no one seemed to drink coffee anymore. How on Earth Gwen had found the only group of people who didn't like coffee was beyond him. Andy had some in the mornings and if they were working late but aside from that he didn't seem too bothered. Gwen had purchased a lovely coffee machine for him to use but to be truthful, he missed his old one. A bittersweet smile touched his lips. That was a lie. He missed the way Jack would hover around the old one waiting impatiently for his caffeine shot. And the look of ecstasy on his face as he tasted Ianto's masterful coffee. The smile faded as light pierced the darkness and the sounds of a vehicle approaching removed the memory.

The three of them worked together to load the heavy and sticky alien into the back of the van which already looked like it had seen a lot of varied creatures in its short life. It was a quiet ride back into Cardiff. They packed the van in a convenient alley way which ran along the side of Torchwood HQ (as it was being called) and unloaded its cargo into the building, down the steps and onto a trolley in the basement. Ianto panted as they deposited the heavy body, relief clear on his face when he could let go of the weight.

"You okay, Ianto?" Andy inquired, wiping his hands on a nearby towel and offering it to his fellow Welshman, "you look very pale."

"I'm fine," Ianto said, taking the towel.

"No, Andy's right," Jamie intervened, "you look really bad. You shouldn't have come out with us tonight after... y'know. You should go home."

Home was now a small flat not too far away. Gwen had used some contacts to get it rent free for him for a couple of months whilst he got himself back on his feet. It wasn't much but it had hot and cold running water, a fridge to keep his food and somewhere he could sleep. It was enough.

"Maybe I should," Ianto admitted, depositing the towel on a nearby table, "it's been a long day."

"We'll see you tomorrow, Ianto," Andy reached out a hand and Ianto shook it. Jamie gave him a nod as he left.

Ianto paused for a moment in the alley, letting the night air cool the sweat on his forehead. If he was honest, he felt quite shaky, but the thought of going home to an empty flat didn't appeal to him. He missed the warmth of a body lying next to him. He slipped past the dark van and began the walk home. On the way he passed a noisy bar and resisted the urge to step inside. He wasn't feeling too hot and as much as he wanted company right now, company accompanied by a large amount of alcohol to remove the lonely ache inside, he knew he wasn't up to it. So he kept walking.

* * * * *

Jack was sitting on his bunk again. The Fryre had gotten confused with the apparent vanishing of the ship and eventually had left them alone. Cheers had rung throughout the ship and, as word spread, Jack got many thanks and pats and hi-fis from all sorts of limbs as he made his way back to his cabin. He didn't want any of the praise. He had just been doing his job. What he wanted was to think.

He pushed his hands through his dark hair and closed his eyes. He had heard the voice of his dead partner. Surely that was a sign that he was losing his mind. He had left Earth to escape the miserable memories and dreams which had plagued his mind. He didn't expect it to get worse the further away from the planet he was.


	6. Chapter Six

**Author's Note: **Happy Thursday folks! Hope you're all having lovely weather this week too. (I got sunburnt last Saturday sitting out in the garden! I live in freakin' Manchester! We don't get sun, certainly not in April.) I hope it keeps up. I'm doing a carboot a week on Sunday. The last one was a washout so *fingers crossed* But enough about me. Thank you all for your beautiful comments and for adding me to your alerts. It adds to my sunny week :) Enjoy the next chapter! Kal x

* * *

**A Chance in a Million**

**Chapter Six**

The days turned into weeks. Torchwood continued to function as best it could and Ianto settled back into his life. He tried not to think about Jack because it only hurt. He took to spending most of the nights in a week in local bars and clubs, soaking up the atmosphere and the company of others. The drink and loud music drowned out his thoughts. He always went with the intention of leaving with someone, a stranger, someone to take away the pain of abandonment. But when a cute young man walked his way and offered to buy him a drink, eyeing up Ianto's ass in his tight jeans, Ianto found he couldn't do it and always shook his head with a sorry smile. That was when he would finish up his drink and leave, stumbling drunkenly home. Until the next time. Maybe one night he would be so far gone he would stop caring.

He visited Rhiannon and the kids occasionally but even those visits were already becoming further and further apart. But he was rescued from having to come up with excuses now. Instead he could out-right lie and tell her that he was busy with Torchwood and Rhi would accept that without question. He knew that she didn't want to know anymore about what Torchwood dealt with than she already did. And it suited him just fine. The truth was that he was given two days off a week to "recover" from his "ordeal." And he spent those two days incredibly hung over, dragging himself out of bed and into a cold shower somewhere in the late afternoon before spending the rest of the day in front of the TV with a take-out. His kitchen hadn't had food in it for weeks. Ianto knew, somewhere deep down, that he was on a self-destructive course and he should seek help, or at the very least make the effort to use his days off doing something other than sleeping off the alcohol from the night before. But it was too easy not to bother, too easy to slide into the bottle and too easy to blame Jack for his predicament.

So he let himself slide, hiding it behind a mask of a well ironed suit and excellent coffee making skills. But inside he was screaming.

* * * * *

The shop in the unit next to Torchwood had closed down and Torchwood had instantly snapped it up, knocking down the wall between the two units and turning the back half of the new one into a sort of autopsy area. Martha Jones from U.N.I.T. had come to help them out with setting it up all and promised to find them a good medic who wouldn't be too awed and scared by the strange world in which Torchwood existed. Gwen trusted her judgment and left Martha to sort them out with someone good.

The sun shone brightly through the frosted glass of the front door to the Torchwood office. It was a Monday; still the most hated day of the week even though she didn't always get a weekend anymore. Gwen yawned as she sipped at the cup of tea on her desk. She craved coffee and silently cursed the child inside her which stopped her from drinking it, and then she apologised to it and stretched, tilting her head to glance at her watch as she did. It was almost eight thirty. She wondered where Ianto was. He was usually in not long after she was. Jamie tended to roll in later in the morning and stayed after Gwen had gone home to rest and assure her husband that she was fine and could handle the job and being pregnant. Andy drifted in and out as he was needed, preferring to hang around the streets in case he was needed in a hurry to check something out. The office was quiet without her co-workers. She shrugged it off and began on the paperwork which seemed to mount up at the start of every week without fail. She was sure it spawned during the night.

Alien paperwork. It could happen.

When the door opened with a soft click Gwen jumped. She caught sight of the clock on her computer screen before her eyes went to the door to see who had entered. Ianto pushed it shut carefully, not letting it make more noise than possible. Gwen frowned. Ianto turned to face into the room and offered her a poor excuse for a smile.

"Gwen," he said by way of a greeting and made his way towards the back where his beloved coffee machine lived.

"Ianto," Gwen stopped him on his way past, "is everything okay?"

"Yes," Ianto avoid her gaze but she could still see the bags under his eyes.

"Then why are you three hours late for work?" she asked bluntly.

"I overslept," he explained as though that answered everything.

"You don't oversleep," Gwen reached out a hand to take a soft grip on his arm when he tried to get past her desk. "Ianto, you look exhausted and if I'm not mistaken, you smell like whiskey." Any other boss would have been furious that one of their employee's showed up at work late and hung-over but Gwen wasn't Ianto's boss. He was her friend. And she was worried.

"Fine," Ianto finally looked at her and she was startled to see anger in his face. "I did oversleep but only because I forgot to set my alarm last night. I forgot because I was too busy trying to drink myself back into a coma. Is that what you want to hear, Gwen?"

Gwen removed her hand in shock at his blunt honesty and whilst she tried to come up with a response, Ianto turned back the way he had come and re-opened the door to the office.

"I'm not working today," he said without looking at her, "I don't feel well." And he left, letting the door close by itself.

"Shit," Gwen breathed sitting back in her chair before reaching for the phone.

* * * * *

Jack lay on his bunk with his hands behind his head. He crossed his legs at the ankles and sighed, tracing patterns on the ceiling with his eyes. For days after the success of dodging the Fryre he had very much been the celebrity of the ship. Everyone seemed to know his name and what he did and he found it hard to escape. Volta had curtly told him that the forced interaction was good for him and left him to handle the attention on his own. He never told her that he found it did help and he felt that she knew anyway and was only grateful she didn't mock him for it.

But the weeks passed and the attention died down as life returned to normal on the ship and Jack hadn't made the effort to keep interacting with his new friends. Volta hadn't so much as tutted at him when he had turned down the latest offer of a drink in the ship's bar. He wondered if she too was giving up on him.

He thought about Ianto.

But his thoughts were rudely interrupted.

"...ack? ...Ja...? Are ..ou... there?"

Jack jumped as a crackly voice suddenly erupted from his vortex manipulator, which was resting on the box-come-bedside-table next to his head. He sat up and reached for it.

"Ja... are...you...th...? Jack...you...ot to come.... ome."

"Gwen?"

"Ja... can you hear m...?"

Jack tapped his vortex manipulator in frustration. "Gwen?!" There was no answer. He tried again, on another channel and waited but there was no more sound from the piece of equipment. He sighed in frustration and collapsed on his back on his bed, holding the vortex manipulator tightly in his hand. Could he return to Earth? They survived fine without him when he'd been busy saving the world from The Master. Surely there was nothing that important that they needed him for. Not that he could have returned right now even if he wanted to. The ship was too far from Earth to try a successful transport. And as much as he was immortal, Jack didn't fancy being deposited in the middle of Earth's atmosphere and feeling his body burn up as he plunged towards the planet. He'd probably revive from the entry just in time to drown in the Pacific.

Jack released his grip on his vortex manipulator but didn't put it back. He let his rest in his half open hand and stroked the screen with his thumb. He thought about what he had left behind, and a small smile touched his lips. He would be lying if he said he didn't miss them.

* * * * *

"There's no answer. I don't even know if it connected properly," Gwen sat back in the computer chair with a groan. She reached her hands round to the base of her back and tried to give herself a massage. The baby bump was giving her spasms.

"Are you okay?" Andy asked, concern in his voice. He had come into the office as soon as he could when Gwen had called him telling him that she needed him to help her contact Jack. That Ianto was in trouble. Martha Jones had left Gwen with some old Torchwood software which had been linked to the U.N.I.T. servers. It was a poor excuse for a backup but it had been better than nothing. Included in that software had been some complicated looking communicative programmes but between the team they had figured out the basics along the way. And those basics were enough to try and link to Jack's vortex manipulator. In theory anyway.

"Fine. The sooner I give birth to this thing, the better," muttered Gwen. "I don't know what else to try. Ianto's running himself into the ground and I'm worried the only thing... the only _person_ who can stop him from destroying himself is Jack. But we can't get hold of him." She left herself rest her head against Andy's stomach as he stood behind her chair and started massaging her shoulders. She thought of Rhys' annoyed reaction if he saw this scene but it felt good and she didn't care.

She needed the comfort her friend offered.


	7. Chapter Seven

**Author's Note: **I can't believe it's been over 2 weeks since I last updated. Sorry about that! I haven't got an excuse... I just lot track of the days. Being unemployed means I very rarely know what day it is, let alone what I should be doing that day (if anything.) I can't believe it's May already... where did April go? Anyways, thank you as ever for your comments and support. Hope you like the new chapter! Kal x

* * *

**A Chance in a Million**

**Chapter Seven**

Ianto sat on the edge of his bed, his head in his hands. His head throbbed. The painkillers he had taken when he'd woken up roughly an hour ago hadn't made a dent in the pain. He massaged his temples savagely before giving up and lying down, closing his eyes against the dim light of the room. He hadn't bothered to open his curtains that morning and was grateful for the negligence. He could feel his pulse vibrating through his aching limbs as his thoughts went uninvited to the night before, and the reason for his short temper and tired body.

_Ianto threw back the shot of whiskey within seconds of the bartender placing it in front of him. He placed the glass back down on the bar with a soft clink and nodded at the young man serving, indicating he wanted a fourth shot. Or was it his fifth? He was losing count. He watched as the brown liquid splashed into the glass and pushed money across the counter to pay for it. He didn't down this one, choosing instead to nurse it, letting his index finger trace the edge in a wobbly circle. He could feel the buzz of the harsh alcohol in his system and it was starting to affect his co-ordination. He could feel his cares disappear with each shot and the tension, which seemed to have taken up daily residence in his back, slip away._

_Suddenly, he felt a hand touch his shoulder and glanced backwards with a jerk to the owner of the hand who was standing behind him. The first thing that struck Ianto was the stranger's eyes. They were a deep blue, almost penetrative. A smile was on the man's lips and Ianto felt himself smiling back before he had time to think about it. _

"_I'm Jake," the stranger introduced himself. He removed his hand from Ianto's shoulder and extended it towards him. _

_Against his better judgment, Ianto half turned on his stool and gripped Jake's hand to shake it. "Ianto," he said. "Can I get you a drink?"_

"_Well, I was going to offer you one but I see you're already sorted," Jake indicated the shot glass on the counter. "You've ruined my carefully thought out plan." He grinned at Ianto._

_Ianto turned back to the bar where he picked up his shot glass and downed it, almost slamming the glass back down. "Does that help?"_

"_Yes," Jake slid onto the empty stool next to Ianto and moved to catch the bartenders eye. His t-shirt rode up at the back slightly as he leaned forward and Ianto couldn't help but eyeing the smooth skin it revealed. He found himself wondering if it was soft to the touch. _

_Jake got them a pint each, stopping Ianto's desire to drink the entire bottle of whiskey that the bartender kept providing him drinks from. Jake lifted his glass slightly and tilted it towards Ianto, taking care not to spill any of the liquid down the side. Ianto picked up his own and clinked it against Jake's._

"_Cheers," Jake said, flashing the smile again. _

"_Cheers," Ianto responded, taking a sip from the pint. _

"_So what brings you here tonight?" Jake had asked, carefully licking the foam moustache from his upper lip. Ianto watched the supple movement with interest._

"_I'm looking to escape," Ianto was surprised at his own honesty._

"_From what?_

"_Everything."_

_Ianto wasn't quite sure how it happened. The next thing he knew, he and Jake were hidden in the shadows of the alley next to the bar. Jake was pushed up against the brick wall of the building and Ianto was kissing him with a ferocity he didn't know was in him. He could feel Jake's hands running through his hair and down his back, pulling him closer so they could feel each other's arousal through their jeans. Ianto growled into the kiss as Jake moved his hips against him. He was so aroused it hurt. Fuck Jack. He deserved to continue living his life. If Jack was okay with abandoning him... he was okay with fucking a stranger in a dirty alley next to an almost equally dirty bar. He wanted this. When Jake's hand stopped applying pressure to his back and moved a good deal lower on his body, Ianto lost all thoughts of what he wanted and tuned into what he desperately needed. _

_Ianto sat on his bed in the dark. He reached up and touched his swollen lips, finding them still warm from Jake's kiss. He had stumbled home after turning Jake's offer of going back to his flat. He needed to think. He shifted position uncomfortably. His boxers were sticking to his skin. Neither he nor Jake had had any tissues on them and had decided to suffer the chaffing. Luckily, Ianto didn't live too far away. He didn't know, or care, where Jake lived. When he had turned down the offer, he had turned away from his one night stand and left the darkness of the alley without so much as a 'goodbye' or 'that was fun.' _

_His body hummed with the afterglow of sex. He felt guilty at his actions and then angry at himself. He had no reason to feel guilty. He was a hot blooded human male who had needs and desires like anyone else. No... he had nothing to feel guilty about. _

_So why was he finding tears on his cheeks?_

_Ianto rubbed his eyes fiercely and rose to take a shower. He was going to bed. He wasn't going to think about this anymore. _

Ianto fell asleep, his thoughts swirling into dreams. Again, he replayed the scene from the night before in his mind but in his dreaming state, Jake morphed into Jack and Ianto whimpered in his sleep, his fist bunching up the quilt as he gripped it. Ianto felt Jack's lips, Jack's hands. The dirt and smell of the alleyway melted into the warmth and comfort of Jack's bunk under his office in the Hub. They were naked and making love. It was a perfect world. Suddenly the Rift Alarm peeled through their actions and they stopped.

"What's that?" Ianto asked, puzzled. "Jack?" But Jack didn't answer and just stared at him with forlorn eyes, eyes which faded as the safety of the Hub gave way to the darkness of Ianto's bedroom. Night had descended and he briefly wondering how long he had been asleep. Then he found the Rift Alarm was in his room. But it wasn't the Rift Alarm. His phone was ringing and he blinked in confusion before scrambling for his mobile which was on the bedside table.

"Hello?" There was a silence on the other end and he reached up with his thumb to press the 'end' button, assuming it was a sales call when he heard a voice.

".....Ianto?"


	8. Chapter Eight

**Author's Note:** Sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry! Etc. It's been ages hasn't it? I got completely sidetracked by life outside of the computer (that's right, I GOT A JOB! *mini party*) Glanced at the last date I updated and realised it's been a while. So have a new chapter! If you're good, and if I remember (which is less likely unfortunately), I'll put up another one in a couple of days as a present for being patient and because I'm in a good mood and the weather's finally warming up! Enjoy. Love Kal x

* * *

**A Chance in a Million**

**Chapter Eight**

After Gwen's broken communication through his vortex manipulator, Jack had lay on his bunk for several minutes, mulling over his thoughts. He couldn't help but reply Gwen's stammered voice over in his mind. The voice of a true friend. It had been a couple of months since he had left Earth but much more than that since he had really spent time with his friends. With Gwen. Hell even with Rhys. The Welshman was a dick at times but he clearly loved Gwen unconditionally and that was more than enough for Jack. The man had a good heart and Jack wouldn't mind taking him out for a pint one day.

His thoughts always returned to the fact he'd only been away a couple of months. Was two months enough? Would he be able to handle going back to Earth? Jack sat up on his bed and swung his legs over the side, holding his vortex manipulator in his hands and staring down at it. The device had a layer of dust over some of the buttons and he carefully cleaned it off with his index finger. Once upon a time he would have cared for the device like it was his child. But he hadn't needed it on board the ship and it became more of an accessory, a habit. It was like wearing a watch that didn't work because not wearing it felt like something was missing. He took it off sometimes, trying to separate himself from his old life. But he never let it out of his sight and couldn't leave his room without it on.

There was laughter in the hallway, growing in sound as the source passed outside his door and then continued further on. Jack sighed and rubbed his hands over his face, shielding the vortex manipulator in his fist so it didn't scratch his skin. He missed having friends. He liked to believe that he didn't really need anyone, they needed him and it was his love for them which caused him to stay. But it wasn't the truth. The truth was that when the Doctor and Rose picked him up for the first time, he was taken with the friendship between them and wanted to be part of them. He had friend in the army, sure. He had friends, companions, fuck buddy's... but nothing like the Doctor and Rose seemed to have. And he wanted that. So he had gone with them. He had been hurt when they had abandoned him and only forgave them when the Doctor explained why he did it. Jack could understand it then.

Even as he relived the twentieth century, he found the need for companionship. He let himself be integrated into Torchwood, fall in love, make friends then watch them die, leaving him to carry on. Captain Jack Harkness (the real one), Estelle, Lucia...

Ianto.

He didn't have any friends on the ship. It was his own fault, he knew that. He thought it was because he had been through too much hurt to let another being, human or otherwise, into his life again. But after hearing Gwen's voice, he realised it was because he missed his old friends; his family. He missed Torchwood and what it offered him. A home, stability, people who cared deeply about him. He bit his lip.

For the first time since Stephen's death, Jack wanted to return to Earth.

"Andy, it's coming up on your right," Gwen's voice was firm in his earpiece as he drove the Torchwood van through the streets of Cardiff.

"Thank you, Gwen, but I can see that for myself," Andy replied.

Jamie, sat in the passenger seat, sniggered, covering her mouth with her hand so Gwen wouldn't hear her. The GPS-esq device which tracked alien objects, alive or otherwise, was stuck on the dashboard with a large glob of blu-tac. Very professional were Torchwood Cardiff. They were watching the same alert that Gwen was, only on a smaller screen. Therefore Gwen's directions were pointless. Jamie believed that Gwen just liked to be involved. At almost full term, it was all she could do to persuade Rhys to allow her to sit in the office five days a week. There was no way she was coming out on missions with them.

An alert had come through fifteen minutes earlier, swiftly followed by police reports of a large dog like creature trying to attack children in a local primary school. The report had come via the phone line. In recent weeks, the police were much more forthcoming with information on instances they knew were out of their league. When Gwen had asked how they knew it wasn't just a rapid dog on the loose, they had responded by pointing out that dogs, rapid or otherwise, did not have giant bat wings on their back.

Andy and Jamie had run for the van.

The van skidded across the tarmac of the school playground. Children of varying ages were lined up neatly at the far end peering over each other's shoulders and around teachers to see what was happening. A police car was already parked up and two officers were talking to someone who Andy assumed was the headmaster. He put the van into neutral, yanked on the handbrake, ignoring it's protest as it was forced into place and turned off the engine. Jamie was already out and walking toward the police officers, searching for information.

Inside the building they found the power was out.

"Bloody brilliant," Andy grumbled, pulling a small torch out of his pocket and twisting the top so a powerful beam shone down the corridor in front of them.

They were the only two in the building. Well... the only two humans anyway. A growl echoed from further down the corridor and off to one side. Andy looked at Jamie who was carrying a tranquiliser gun. They were both carrying normal guns on holster on their belts, just in case tranquilisers didn't work. Gwen still liked the aliens to be taken back to the base, to be analysed as best they could until something with more medical experience could be found to help them out. They followed the noise as silently as they could. Only their trainers making soft noises on the linoleum floor. They reached the end of the corridor and peered round it. They couldn't see anything.

"We should've split up," whispered Jamie, her voice so light Andy wasn't sure she had spoken at first. "Tried to corner it."

"We've only got one tranq gun," Andy murmured back.

"No, there's another one. But it's alien in origin. In the archives in the basement. But only Ianto can work it," Jamie took a step around the corner, facing down the second corridor. It seemed the growls were coming from one of the classrooms roughly halfway down.

"Fat lot of good he's been lately," Andy responded, following Jamie down the second corridor. The ex-policeman couldn't remember the last time he saw Ianto putting doing his best at the job. His fellow Welshman showed up for work, sure, and made coffee and gave orders and even came on retrieval missions with them. But his mind was always elsewhere. He always looked more tired after time off than he did before. And then there was the storm out Gwen had told them about that morning. Just when they needed his expertise and help. Gwen had rung Ianto at home but he hadn't answered the phone. So they were on their own.

"I'll go first," Jamie said, indicating with her head. "If the tranq gun doesn't work, I'll expect back-up of the bullet variety."

"You're on," Andy followed closely behind as she made her way slowly down the corridor.

It took some time, but since no one seemed to want his help, which he counted as a good thing right now, he had a lot of time. Jack had begun to send out signals with his vortex manipulator. Signals designed to pick up communication channels linked to one particular organisation. It was certainly not easy. He tried to pick up on the old Bluetooth frequency which had linked their ear pieces but that was long gone. Then he tried for an Internet signal linked to the Hub. But that was also dead. It was a long shot as he knew Gwen hadn't rebuilt the old Hub, but she might have found some equipment which channelled the same signals. Apparently not. After some thought, Jack began a search through the universe for unique signals. Signals which would connect to the Rift in Cardiff and hopefully to the new Torchwood Hub. Whatever or wherever that might be.

Time passed and Jack didn't move. He stayed still on his bed, holding his vortex manipulator in his hands. His butt had fallen asleep from the firmness of the bed but still he didn't move. He just stared at the small device. Waiting.

Suddenly a light came on his vortex manipulator. Jack swallowed. It had connected him to a number and was waiting for confirmation of whether he wanted to complete the connection or not. The signel was weak, probably not much stronger than Gwen's original attempt. But the vortex manipulator believed the number was linked to Torchwood. He didn't know how old it was or even if anyone would be there to pick up. His finger hovered over the button which would connect to the phone. Then he closed his eyes and pressed it. There was a moment of silence, then a small click and finally a monotonous sound rung from the vortex manipulator. The phone on the other end was ringing.

Jack counted the rings. One.... two.... three.... four.... if it got to ten he was going to hang up he decided.... five.... six.... seven.... eig....

"Hello?" Came an achingly familiar voice. A voice he never thought he would hear again other than in his dreams. A voice which called for him to return home. Not to Earth. But in the arms of the man he loved. Home.

".....Ianto?" Jack whispered.


	9. Chapter Nine

**Author's Note**: I always seem to start these with an apology don't I? I'm gonna stop doing that lol! I've been having numerous Internet problems lately, it's driving me nuts. My wireless is semi-working at the moment so I'm taking advantage. I'll keep this short. Thank you, thank you, for the comments and follows. I hope you continue to enjoy the fic :) Love Kal x

* * *

**A Chance in a Million**

**Chapter Nine**

"Jack?" Ianto gasped the name out loud. His heart sped up just from hearing Jack's voice. As his brain started to form more words for him to say, Ianto was suddenly confronted with a soft click and a steady beeping sound. The connection had been severed.

"NO!" Jack yelled at his vortex manipulator as he heard the line being disconnected. He tried to ring back but it wouldn't work. He flung the device across the room in a temper, hearing it smack into the wall and drop to the floor with solid clunk. He wondered if it was broken. He didn't care. It had let him down when he needed it the most. It deserved to be broken.

Ianto was alive. Ianto was alive. Ianto was alive! IANTO WAS ALIVE!

Jack's brain screamed at him. His heart begged him to return home. He could do nothing but pace the floor of his suddenly crampingly small room. He dug his fingers through his hair in frustration and resisted the urge to scream. He didn't want to alarm people in nearby rooms. He had to find a way home. He had never been so sure of anything in his life. He reached for his great coat which was hanging on a hook on the wall nearby. Sliding his arms into the sleeves, he bent to pick up the discarded vortex manipulator and shoved it into a pocket. He opened the door and left the room without looking back, the last thing he heard was the door softly clicking into place.

Ianto's mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. He listened to the monotone sound which rung down the phone. Eventually even that stopped, giving way to silence.

"Jack?" He whispered even though he knew there was no one on the other end. He wanted to say something more. Several expletives ran through his mind but he couldn't find one which summed up how he felt right now. So he said nothing more but simply lowered the phone. Questions tumbled through his mind. What could have caused the call to cut off? How had Jack got his mobile number in the first place? How had Jack known he was alive and why hadn't he called sooner?

Unfortunately he couldn't come up with any answers.

He placed the phone back on the bedside table, his fingers trembling so the phone rattled against the top as it was set down. He wondered what time it was and turned his wrist towards his face to read his watch. But it was too dark in the room to see the face. He would either have to pick up his phone again or move and turn on a light. There was a lamp on the table just past the phone. He reached out and his fingers hovered over the phone briefly. He decided against it. An irrational fear sprung up in his mind that if Jack called back and he was in the middle of pressing a button, he might cut him off. When the lamp clicked on he saw it was gone 10pm. He rubbed his hands over his face. How had he slept that long?

A pressing ache in his bladder called him to the bathroom and he decided to take a shower, remove the last dregs of the night before. Then he'd try and sleep again before heading into work.

"Gwen!" Ianto burst into the Torchwood office early the next morning. She was glad to see he looked much more refreshed and energised than the day before.

"Glad you're in early," Gwen said, intending on getting him to ring up Martha Jones and see if she was getting any further with finding them a medic. The flying dog Andy and Jamie had hauled in the night before was lying on a table in the autopsy room. Or rather its corpse was. Jamie had found out the hard way that tranquiliser darts had no effect on the creature and spent much of the night in A & E getting stitches for her efforts. Luckily Andy's bullet had been true and the creature hadn't gotten any further than clamping its jaws on Jamie's arm. But Gwen didn't get as far as asking her question because Ianto spoke first;

"I've spoken to Jack!"

Silence rung through the office as Gwen's mouth fell open. Her mind flooded with questions, the main one being _Is Jack back?_

"He's not back," Ianto hurriedly clarified, seeing Gwen's eager expression. Her face fell slightly but he pressed on. "He phoned me, Gwen. It was really him."

"He _phoned_ you?" Gwen couldn't keep the astonishment out of her voice. She opened her mouth, expecting more to come out but there was nothing. Gwen Cooper had nothing to say to that.

"I know, I don't know how he did it," Ianto started to pace the floor as he thought out loud. "I was asleep and my mobile rung. I assumed it was you. Rhiannon would never call that late and no one else has the number. When I answered there was silence. I almost hung up when... when I heard his voice."

"What did he say?" Gwen found her own voice again. She was leaning forward on her desk, as though it would make Ianto's words flow faster.

"Ianto," said the Welshman simply, looking at Gwen. She saw forlorn excitement in his eyes. It was a heartbreaking mixture. "He just said my name. And then the connection got disconnected." Ianto sat down heavily in the chair in front of his desk as though the energy had just drained out of him. "Just my name."

"I wonder what happened," Gwen mused, her gaze on an invisible spot somewhere between her desk and the door to the office as she thought. She didn't notice Ianto's alarm at the thought something could have happened which cut Jack off. "Although," she continued, "it could have just been a bad connection." She looked at Ianto almost guiltily. "I tried to get in contact with Jack yesterday. After... well after you stormed out. I thought I'd found him via his vortex manipulator. But I couldn't get a response." She paused, "maybe I did get through and I just couldn't hear him..."

"Yeah, maybe," Ianto replied although he wasn't really paying much attention to Gwen's rambling's anymore. His quick mind began to tick over ways of strengthening the signal, if that was the problem. If Gwen had connected then he could use the same programme she did. But he would need to fix it so it connected better and for longer. It didn't have to be an hour long phone call while they caught up on the goings on in each other's lives. He wanted to know Jack was okay. He wanted to know... if he was going to come home. He needed one minute. Thirty seconds. It would be enough to ask a question and get an answer. To tell Jack... well he didn't know what he would tell Jack. But he would have time to think of something. "Gwen," he stood up from behind his computer, "can you show me what software you used to contact Jack?"

Gwen nodded. She had stopped talking when she realised Ianto was no longer listened. She wasn't hurt. She had recognised the thoughtful expression on his face. Ianto was coming up with an answer. She moved over slightly so Ianto could see her screen and opened up the software. She explained to him how it worked and what she had done to find Jack's vortex manipulator. Ianto followed the cursor on the screen as she pointed out what she had clicked. He memorised her directions and took notes of what she had typed into the programme on a pad of paper. As Gwen went along, he was mentally making adjustments to her methods, scribbling down the odd note to keep track of his ideas. When she was finished, he went back to his own computer and began to work.

Andy walked in two hours later and raised his eyebrows at Ianto and Gwen who appeared to be in intense staring matches with their computer screens. He let the door close a little too loudly, finding amusement in his friends jerking out of their trances in almost simultaneous movements.

"What's going on 'ere then?" He said in his best 'bobby' accent. He walked over to Ianto's computer, as it was nearest, and recognised the software Gwen had tried the day before. "You're not trying that again are you? It didn't work."

"Jack phoned Ianto," Gwen spoke before Ianto had a chance.

"You're joking?" Andy said, glancing at her. "When?"

"Yesterday," Gwen continued. Ianto was happy to let her control the conversation for the time being. Andy was breaking up his train of thought. "But the connection was severed so Ianto's trying to modify that software to see if we can get a strong signal and hopefully reach Jack properly this time."

"Ah right," the ex-policeman nodded. "How's that going?" This time Ianto had to answer.

"Nearly there," he said, not taking his eyes off the screen as his fingers clicked commands into the programme.

"I'll make some drinks then shall I?" Andy turned away from Ianto, understand he wasn't wanted when Ianto half jumped up from his desk.

"Done!" He exclaimed, running his fingers through his tousled hair. "Let's try it."

Gwen pushed her wheelie chair across the wooden floorboards until she was next to Ianto. Andy stood behind them both, resting his hands on the backs of their chairs. Ianto sat down again and his hand hovered over the keyboard. It was shaking. He glanced at Gwen and she nodded at him, giving him silent support. Ianto bit his lip and pressed the 'enter' key, releasing the signal into the universe. He, Gwen and Andy watched the screen, waiting for it to connect.

The silence was deafening.

"It connected faster than this last time," Gwen whispered, sounding scared to break the silence. The minutes were ticking by.

"Wait," Ianto replied, too afraid to blink, let alone look at his friend.

"Ianto, mate," Andy rested a hand on Ianto's shoulder. "It's not going to connect."

"It has to," Ianto said, failing to keep the desperation out of his voice. His fists were tightly clenched, his knuckles white.

"I'm sorry," Andy said.

Ianto kept staring at the screen until his vision blurred. And then the computer came up with a message.

CONNECTION FAILED. NO RESPONSE FOUND.


	10. Chapter Ten

**Author's Note: **Gods it's miserable weather here today! If you're too suffering from rainy-ness, have another chapter to cheer you up :) And if you're not, well, have a chapter anyway! Thanks for the comments on the last chapter - I love reading them. It brightens my day. Hope you enjoy. Love, Kal x

* * *

**A Chance in a Million**

**Chapter Ten**

"I'm sorry, Jack," said the Captain, turning on his chair to fix his gaze on the immortal traveller. "We've got a schedule to keep. I can't just go off course at a moment's notice. Certainly not as far off course as you're asking."

Jack kept the disappointment off his face, placing a smile there instead. "It's okay. I thought it would be a long shot but hey, it costs nothing to ask."

"It doesn't," the Captain agreed.

"I don't suppose you can scan for any nearby ships I could transport to them?" Jack pressed on with his next question.

"What's so important on Earth that you suddenly want to go back?" The Captain asked, curiously. "You were so eager to leave when you joined us."

"Thing's have changed," Jack said. The Captain waited, clearly expecting more information but Jack wasn't willing to say any more. Eventually the Captain shrugged and turned to his complicated looking console. He pushed a few buttons and looked at the picture on a small monitor. Almost instantly it picked up a nearby ship, easily within transferring range. The Captain pointed to the blip on the screen.

"You could hail them and see if they're heading in that direction," he suggested. "You can use our communication device."

Jack thanked the man and stepped up to the communication system which was built into the console. The Captain move his chair out of the way so Jack could easily access the controls. Most communication systems, no matter what planet or time period they were from, operated in more or less the same fashion. You connected to the other person or ship or planet and dialled out. They answered and the call would disconnect when either one or both parties chose. He connected to the other ship and waited. It connected and an alien language echoed from the speaker. Jack swore silently.

"Hello, I'm sorry but I don't speak your language." Jack said in an apologetic voice.

"Hallo," came the speaker in accented English. "This better?"

"Yes, thank you," Jack felt relieved.

"What do?" The faceless speaker came again, which Jack took for asking what they could do for him.

Jack explained his situation in as simple terms as he could, avoiding complicated sentence structures and long words. English was clearly not widely spoken on this other ship and was probably learnt by a handful of people for business reasons only. He didn't take long and waited for a reply.

"Yah, you come. You go half there." Jack couldn't stop a grin from lighting up his face. Half way to Earth was certainly better than nothing at all! If he got lucky, maybe they would come across a third ship who could take him the rest of the way. He asked if now was a convenient time to transport aboard and the speaker on the other end of the communication device confirmed that that would be fine as they wouldn't be in the vicinity of Jack's ship much longer. Jack disconnected the line and turned to face the Captain.

"So you're leaving us, Jack?" The Captain confirmed, almost sadly. He stood, matching Jack in height and reached out his hand. Jack gripped it.

"It was good of you to take be on board, Captain," Jack said, "and I hope I've been of service to you during my time, short as it's been."

"You've been more than that," the Captain said, referring to Jack's help during the Fryre attack. "You're welcome back any time."

"I'll bid you goodbye then," Jack released the handshake and nodded to both the Captain and his vice. He turned and left the room, the door sliding shut behind him. He was on his way to the teleport station when a thought occurred to him and he changed direction slightly, turning off the corridor to the right instead of the left. There was one more person he needed to see first.

Volta looked up at Jack entered the room. She was an electrician and she lifted a hand to stop Jack from walking any nearer. She was in the middle of fixing a faulty cable and there were tools and wires strewn across the floor. She had no intention of Jack's great stomping boots breaking anything. Volta removed her mask, tossing it to the floor and made her way to where Jack was waiting for her, she opened her mouth with the intent on telling him off for hiding away again when she saw his expression and the fact he was wearing his coat. He never wore his coat.

"Jack?" She questioned, tilting her head to meet his eyes.

"I'm leaving, Volta," Jack said, reaching out to stroke her soft cheek.

Volta was going to ask why but the answers were in Jack's eyes. He was following his heart.

"He's alive, Volta," Jack whispered, a smile lighting up his face. "I heard his voice. He's alive."

Volta brought up her own hand and covered Jack's, leaning into his touch slightly, "then you have to go to him." She told him firmly.

"You've been a good friend to me," Jack continued, bringing up her hand to kiss it. "And I'll miss you."

"You're soft," she sniffed before enveloping him in a hug far stronger than he would have excepted from her lithe body. He returned it fully.

"Goodbye," he said, pulling back. He raised his hand in a wave and left the room.

Volta waved as his coat disappeared round the corner. She sighed to herself a smile on her face. She hoped Jack found his way back home. Ianto Jones must be a very special man. "And a lucky one," she murmured before resuming her work.

"Damnit!" Ianto snarled at the computer screen slamming his hands on the keyboard and causing the computer to protest in a series of beeps. He swore at it in Welsh and Gwen and Andy exchanged glances. Neither of them said a word as they watched Ianto slowly sink back into his chair and prop his chin up on his hands. He gazed at the screen in determined thought. When Gwen spoke his name, he ignored her, lost in a world of possibilities and discarded answers to the problem which was confronting him.

The phone rung. Gwen sighed and wheeled her chair back across to her desk where she picked it up. For a moment she longed for headsets again. But it wasn't something she had gotten around to getting. Being pregnant was scattering her brain. The conversation didn't last very long.

"What is it?" Andy recognised the look on her face.

"Fancy going after another rabid flying dog?"

Andy swore. "I'll need help." He looked at Ianto who was emersed in taping in new commands onto the computer screen in front of it. "Ianto." Andy said, a little more sharply than he intended.

"Ask Jamie," Ianto said, absently.

"Jamie's resting up after nearly having her arm ripped off yesterday," Andy stood in front of Ianto's desk. "Because you weren't there to help us out. I can't go after this thing on my own. I'm sorry Jack's gone, mate. I am. Really. But you have responsibilities here. You can't spend your time chasing after a man who basically makes a name for himself by vanishing into the night." Andy paused when Ianto's hand's stopped tapping on the keyboard. Ianto sighed.

"I'll come with you to catch the dog," Ianto said, quietly. "But I'm not giving up on Jack." He looked up and locked gazes with Andy. The ex-policeman was a little surprised at the fierce determination in his fellow Welshman's eyes.

There was a few seconds of silence. Gwen's eyes darted between the two men as though she was watching a tennis match.

"Then let's go," Andy said.

Twenty minutes later the two Welshman, one dressed in jeans and a polo shirt and the other in a suit, stalked through the now empty halls of Cardiff's Queen's Arcade shopping centre, their shoes making horribly loud squeaking noises on the polished floors. They both carried guns in their hands. They weren't even going to bother with Ianto's more sophisticated alien tranquiliser gun. It wasn't worth the risk.

"Why does it always appear in places with empty, echo-y halls," muttered Andy.

"I would call two appearances 'always'," Ianto replied, wondering if the animal had vanished into one of the shops which hadn't bothered to put their shutters down when everyone was evacuated and how they would know if it was.

"It's got a 100% record. Which makes it 'always'."

Ianto was about to reply when a horrific growl came from in front of them. They froze. Somehow the creature had managed to get directly in front of them and was set back on its haunches, its head low to the ground. It snarled ferociously, saliva dripping from it's black lips onto the floor. It hissed when it made contact. It muscles tensed and time slowed down. Ianto felt his heart thud with every second that passed. The creature lowered itself further to the floor before springing up, its front legs reaching forward, it's wings opening out to their full expanse. As it's hind legs pushed it up and it's wings took the first beat Ianto felt his finger curl around the trigger. It's eyes glowed as it launched itself toward the two Torchwood employees.

"Now," Andy said and simultaneously, they both fired. Two red splatters appeared on it's chest. It jerked with the impact and it's flight was stuttered. Ianto followed it with his eyes not registering that it was falling on him until it was too late.

"IANTO!" Andy yelled, firing off another shot at the alien dog as its body thudded onto his colleague. "Ianto!"

Seconds ticked by. The dog didn't twitch and Andy couldn't see it moving. He held his gun in front of him in case it felt like taking a breath. Then he heard a muffled noise. "Ianto?"

"I said, 'ow'." The voice came clearer and Andy saw the alien creature's body lift an inch. He dropped his gun, letting it clatter to the floor.

"Fuck," he said, in relief. He dropped to his knees and slid his hands under the bleeding body. Christ it was heavy. The muscles in his arms strained as he pushed the body off. Ianto's hands helped from underneath and before long they had rolled it on its side and Ianto was staring up at Andy, his suit soaked in blood, his face pale and his hair stuck to his head from sweat. "Alright?" Andy said, holding out a hand to pull Ianto into a sitting position.

"I knew I should've continued trying to get hold of Jack." Ianto said. "How do you plan on getting this thing out of the shopping centre?"

Andy leaned back on his heels and stared at the creature. "I haven't a bloody clue, mate."


	11. Chapter Eleven

**Author's Note: **I've been totally distracted by gorgeous weather and shiny shifts at work which pay me money which I can save towards backpacking the States in 2013! Is that a good excuse? Well it's the only one I got. Gaps happen, and I'm slowing down with the speed I'm churing out chapters. You guys are fast catching up to where I am at the moment. Hope you're all well and having great weather too! Love yas, Kal x

P.S. I've discovered that when I entered scene breaks using * * * * *, keeps removing them! I've never noticed before. Same with using - - - - - Highly frustrating. Any suggestions? It's making my chapters look messy and confusing when they jump without warning. Grr.

* * *

**A Chance in a Million**

**Chapter Eleven**

Gwen groaned and rubbed the small of her back. It had been a slow couple of weeks and to be truthful she was glad. She was dangerously near her due date. Rhys was practically pulling his hair out trying to get her to stay at home now but she kept promising him she wouldn't leave the office and therefore kept coming in to work. It wasn't that she didn't trust her team. She did, with all her heart and soul, she just didn't want to sit around the house on her own waiting for something to happen. She'd be permanently tense, which she was sure wouldn't be good for the baby. That had been her winning argument. Anything which wasn't good for the baby Rhys would turn against, however much he must have known she was playing him. In return for (reluctantly) letting her go into work, Rhys had made Gwen promise to keep her mobile phone attached to her hip using a little clasp which attached it to her belt. So she did, even if it was a tad uncomfortable when she leaned forward as the action caused it to dig into her swollen stomach.

She could hear the clattering of instruments and out of key humming from the autopsy room next door. Martha Jones had been as good as her word and finally provided them with a young but heavily experience medic who didn't even flinch when she had been presented with her first alien body. In fact when she laid her eyes on the flying dog, a grin had lit up her face and she had shoo'd everyone out of the room as soon as they had given her all the facts they knew. Her name was Melissa (Mel to her friends) Hardy. She was four years out of medical school and had been snapped up by UNIT when she stumbled across two aliens fighting over the scraps of a Subway sandwich in Manchester's Gay Village. Not as shocked as another civilian might have been, they decided to recruit her rather than wipe her memory (it turned out UNIT weren't above retconning people either if it was needed.) And the rest, as they say, is history.

Ianto was sat behind his desk and looked up at Gwen's groan. He was, once again, trying to fine tune their communication software. He was bordering on the idea that whatever the problem was it was nothing to do with their software but more to do with the receiver, i.e. Jack's vortex manipulator. It wasn't as comforting a thought as it should be. Either something was broken, or Jack was... he shook his head. He wasn't going there. Gwen's groan distracted him from his thoughts.

"Are you okay, Gwen?" he asked, careful about how much concern he put into his question. Gwen's hormones were making her testy and he had already had his head bitten off once that morning. He couldn't even make her coffee to cheer her up.

"If this kid doesn't drop soon, I swear to God I'll..." she cut off, not able to thing of anything to do which she wouldn't feel bad about once her baby had actually been born.

"Is there anything I can get you?" Ianto leaned back and stretched, revelling in the sensation of his back cracking. He had been hunched over all morning and was ready for a break. He wondered how Andy and Jamie had landed themselves the roles of "pounding the streets" as they put it. Getting fish and chips and going for a stroll was more like it. Ianto could smell the grease on them when they showed their faces. He wasn't far from fully deciding there was something going on between them two of them. It was just a matter of how to either catch them in the act or drop it into the conversation without warning and watch their reactions.

"I'll be fine, thanks Ianto," Gwen sighed and rubbed her eyes. Suddenly her hands froze over her face for two seconds before lowering slowly. "Shit," she whispered.

"Gwen?" Ianto was on his feet and out from behind his desk before she spoke again.

"I think my water's just broke," Gwen gasped, looking down at her crotch. Ianto didn't follow her gaze out of respect and instead grabbed the bag lying next to her desk. Gwen had two hospital bags. One in the house and one in the office, just in case. He held out his free hand to help her up out of her seat. As she got up he couldn't help but glance down and was shocked at how wet the seat was. "I've g... got to phone Rhys," Gwen stammered out, suddenly looking very nervous and unsure of herself. Ianto didn't think she knew what unsure was until just now.

"You can phone him from the car," Ianto said, carefully leading her towards the door of the office. "Mel!" He turned his head suddenly to shout over his shoulder.

"Yup?" Mel appeared at the connecting door between the two units. One look at Gwen and excitement filled her young features. "Ohmygod is she in labour?"

"She has a name," growled Gwen, bending over as her first contraction hit. "Fuckmewithashovel," she swore. Ianto would've laughed at her choice of expletive had she not been squeezing his hand so tightly he thought she was going to break something in it. He'd privately done research on going into labour in case it happened during office hours. It hadn't done him much good as he had learnt that every woman was different. It appeared Gwen's body was the type to move quickly through the motions, so to speak.

"Hold the fort, Mel," Ianto instructed. "I'll ring you from the hospital."

"Oh totally!" Mel squeaked. "This is so exciting! Good luck, Gwen."

"Bite me," muttered Gwen as the contraction passed. "Please tell me we're not taking that bloody van?"

"I was more thinking your car," Ianto explained, opening the door and escorting her outside. He'd dread to think what a bumpy van would do to the suddenly very much in labour Gwen. The last thing he wanted was taking on the role of midwife without warning.

"Where is she?" Ianto heard Rhys' voice before he saw the burly Welshman. Rhys skidded on the tiled floor as he stopped in front of the plastic seat Ianto was occupying.

"In there," Ianto pointed to a nearby room. Rhys was opening the door before the words were barely out of Ianto's mouth. He sighed and stared glumly at the disgusting sludge in the polystyrene cup that passed for coffee in this place. He had been waiting an hour. It hadn't taken long for him to be thrown out of the private room Gwen was in by the nurses. He was glad. Seeing his friend give birth was not an experience he wanted right now. He remembered Rhys' reaction when he found out Jack knew about Gwen's pregnancy before he did. He didn't want to risk the wrath of Rhys by witnessing the birth of his first child. He wondered if he could leave the waiting area now Rhys had shown up. Labour could last for hours and hanging around like a spare part wasn't going to do anyone any good.

Glancing at his watch, Ianto stood up and began to pace. He could wait another hour or so. Mel had his mobile number if anything came up.

It was three hours and fifty five minutes later when the door to Gwen's room blasted open and a beaming Rhys stood in the doorway.

"I'm a dad," he said.

A grin spread across Ianto's face as he reached out to grasp Rhys' hand in a celebratory handshake. Rhys looked like he could hug him. Ianto was slightly glad he didn't and instead he followed the new father back into the room. Gwen was lying on the bed, her hair matted to her head in sweat with a satisfied smile on her face. In her arms lay a tiny body wrapped in a yellow blanket.

"It's a boy, Ianto," whispered Gwen. Ianto crept forward. The baby was so tiny. He seemed to be asleep with one fist curled up against his mouth. His fingers were so small, Ianto was scared to touch them for fear they might break. He felt his heart melt. "Haydn, this is your Uncle Ianto. Ianto, Haydn," she said, an exhausted giggle escaping her lips.

"Hey Haydn," Ianto felt a rush of love for the child. He wasn't biologically connected but he felt he could be. He liked the sound of him being an Uncle. "That wasn't too long a labour was it?" He said to Gwen.

Gwen raised an eyebrow and Ianto squirmed.

"What I meant... was... uh..." Ianto said, sorry he had said anything.

Rhys placed a hand on his shoulder, "don't go there, mate. She'll have your head."

"Sorry," Ianto smiled at Gwen.

"Forgiven," she looked down at her child and her smile could have powered the building.

Jack rubbed the back of his hands across his eyes, removing the sweat which was threatening to fall into them. He'd been on this new ship two weeks and had soon been put to work. As nice as they were, he had no currency and they weren't prepared to transport him for free. Which was fair enough. Their English was very basic but they were able to communicate comfortably enough. Once up on a time he could've wrangled his vortex manipulator to act as a rough translator. But it had indeed broken when he'd thrown it at the wall and he didn't have the tools to fix it. So it was strapped to his wrist as a fashion accessory and nothing more.

Jack had learnt it would be another month and a half before they would be as close to Earth as they would get and he would have to find another transport vessel. In the mean time he was working as a cleaner. And the ship wasn't half filthy.

As he worked he couldn't help but think about Ianto and Gwen. Even about Rhys and even more Alice when he felt he could handle the ache of knowing she would never talk to him again. He wondered what had happened since he left. Would they be glad to have him back? It was easy to assume so having heard both Gwen and Ianto's voices but for all he knew, something major could be happening and they just want his expertise rather than him. But he mostly kept such depressing thoughts out of his head. He knew turning back was the right decision.


	12. Chapter Twelve

**Author's Note: **I haven't forgotten about you guys! We've had a death in the family, so it's been a rough couple of weeks this end. The funeral was this week so I'm now slowly getting my mind set back onto other things. On the bright side - have a new chapter! No scene breaks in this one so I don't have to deal with 's obsurd desire to delete anything indicating those. Hope you're all well :) Love, Kal

* * *

**A Chance in a Million**

**Chapter Twelve**

"To Haydn Williams!" said Andy, lifting his glass.

"To Haydn," came the chorused answer, three more glasses striking his in a timely celebration. Everyone took a sip of their drinks before replacing the glasses on the wooden table top, which was irritatingly devoid of beer mats, meaning every time someone placed their hands on the surface, they came away sticky and wet.

After Ianto had returned to the Torchwood office, leaving an exuberant Rhys and exhausted Gwen at the hospital, he had found Andy and Jamie sitting on the edge of Gwen's desk, jerking away from each other guiltily. He pretended not to notice that the back of Jamie's shirt had been hitched up or the mess of Andy's hair from exploring hands, effectively ignoring what he had almost walked in on and storing it for future use. He proceeded to tell them as much as he knew about Haydn which, with his uncanny knack of remembering several tons of useless facts, was quite a bit. Jamie pestered him for information whilst Andy sat back, using his hands to prop his body up, and listened to Ianto's replies with a happy smile on his face. He asked how Gwen was and when Ianto told him she had fallen asleep as he was leaving Andy had decided to wait until the next day to visit his friend and newborn.

A quick discussion over whether they could leave the office early ended in a unique "yes" and they proceeded to a nearby pub to wet Haydn's head. Ianto snuck a Rift monitoring device into his pocket, just in case.

"I'm so excited for her and Rhys," Mel said, a grin almost splitting her face in two. "I want to get Haydn and Gwen a present but I don't really know her that well yet so I don't know what to get. What do you think she would like? Should I just the baby a present or should I get Gwen something as well?" she babbled until Jamie reached over and covered her mouth with her hand.

"Just get the baby a stuffed toy and Gwen some chocolate," Jamie said with a grin. "Okay?" when Mel nodded she removed her hand. "That was easily solved."

"I talk too much don't I?" Mel asked, a flush tainting her cheeks.

"Yes," winked Jamie, "but don't worry about it."

Mel sipped her lager and sat back in her seat, an amused and embarrassed smile on her face. They all laughed together. It was nice, being outside of work, relaxing and celebrating a friend's first child. It was like they all had normal jobs and didn't fight aliens or keep Cardiff safe from the debris which fell through the Rift in Time and Space. They were just colleagues, having a drink and chatting about normal things. They weren't discussing the latest alien tech they had to deal with or where exactly they were going to house the latest weevil capture. They were discussing how long Gwen should take off work and how long they should wait before going to visit her at home. Normal things.

"So I sliced up the flying dog," Mel said in a lull of conversation. She flinched when Jamie flicked a soggy piece of lemon at her, which she'd fished out of her gin and tonic. "What?"

"Do you really have to bring that up now?" Jamie teased, good naturedly. "We were discussing whether Gwen will give Haydn a middle name and what it'll be."

"That conversation had ended," Mel said, defensively, tossing the piece of fruit back towards her friend.

"Find anything interesting?" Andy asked, putting a stop to the inevitable food fight between the two feisty women.

Mel shrugged, "just your standard muscle and bone structure. Really it wasn't that much different from a normal dog in terms of general body structure, y'know, apart from the wings. Now they were interesting!" her eyes lit up as she continued to explain, unable to keep the eager tone from her voice. "They grew out of the top of the ribcage. The bone they were made out of was much denser than the rest of their skeletoral structure. My guess is that the wings take a lot of battering due to their size and it's their primary mode of transport. So they've grown to be very hard and very difficult to break or get damaged. The skin which covers the outside is like extremely thick leather. In fact it's over an inch thick, very hard to slice through without the right tool and it won't bleed until it's wound is more than an inch deep. They were very protective of their wings it seems."

"So the rest of the body was just... normal? Or as normal as you can get?" Ianto asked, curious in spite of his brain telling him that no matter how long he was with Torchwood, he still didn't really want to know the intricate ins and outs of an alien's guts.

"Yeah," Mel replied with a shrug, "I don't get it either. Maybe they used their wings as a sort of weapon as well? They so tough, they might be strong enough to kill someone with a good blow. Maybe they don't need a well armoured body."

"Interesting," Ianto commented, sipping his beer, unable to stop thinking about how heavy the body of the creature had felt when it landed on top of him. It was a good job it was shot when it was it seems.

"And this it the weird part," Mel continued.

"If this is the weird part, what on Earth was all that you just told us?" Jamie said, shaking her head. Six months with Torchwood and she was still slightly freaked out by all that they saw. Mel had seemed to just step right into the middle of it all and thrive. She wondered what went on inside that girl's mind sometimes.

"It had this tiny little button shaped object embedded in its neck," Mel continued, by passing Jamie's comment. "It was stuck in pretty deep but I managed to pull it out and when I stuck it under the microscope I could see a miniature flashing red light. Not much bigger than a full stop."

Ianto lowered his glass from his lips where he'd been about to take a sip and looked at Mel with renewed interest. Listening to the details of the dissections, whilst an odd combination of interesting and disgusting, were not that different from what he had heard before. But it was certainly new for a creature to come with its very own bit of alien tech. He studied Mel as she looked around the group, pausing in her story to let this interested bit of information sink in. She had settled in incredibly quickly which he found a touch odd but then again Jack trusted Martha Jones completely for reasons he had never explained. But Jack's trust was enough. So Ianto trusted her too. He wondered what Mel's story was, if there was a reason for her unshaken approach to all things Torchwood or if she was just incredibly open and easy going. He lifted his glass and took that sip.

"It's a transmitter." Mel said.

Ianto choked.

"What?" He gasped as Andy thumped his back a little too hard. Ianto gave him a weak smile as he coughed and shook his head when Andy raised his hand again.

"It's a transmitter," Mel repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"Transmitting what?" Ianto managed to say without coughing up flecks of beer.

"Um..."

"What did you do with it?" Ianto pressed, pushing his glass to one side so he could lean on the table.

"Left it in the autopsy room. It's in a test tube with a top on it. Why?" Mel looked anxious and bit her lip.

Ianto took a breath and closed his eyes. He didn't want to shout at her. "How do you know it's a transmitter?" He asked calmly.

Mel's eyes shifted to Jamie for silent support before answering, "I ran a scanner over it. It's sending out radio waves."

"We need to get back to the Hu... I mean the Office," Ianto inwardly winced at what he almost said. He stood up.

"What's wrong?" Jamie asked, downing the rest of her drink before grabbing her coat.

"What if it's transmitting a signal that's being tracked?" Ianto said, darkly, leading the way out of the pub. "We could be drawing something directly to us."

Andy was the last the leave the pub. As he stepped out into the night air, he took a moment to look up at the sky and silently curse whoever lived in the heavens. Because they were doing a bang up job of fucking up every moment of happiness Torchwood experienced. Then he shoved his hands in his pockets and followed his friends into the streets of Cardiff.


	13. Chapter Thirteen

**Author's Note:** I haven't really got much to say. It's just gone midnight (I'm such a party animal) and I'm tired. But thanks for new comments and hey to the new people who've set up alerts! You all make me feel warm and happy :) Enjoy the chapter! Love, Kal x

* * *

**A Chance in a Million**

**Chapter Thirteen**

Ianto lead the way into the Torchwood Office, the lights automatically turning on from the movement from the doorway. He shrugged out of his coat and hung it up on the stand just inside the entrance. Mel came in behind him and silently led the way through to the autopsy suite next door without pausing to remove her jacket. She unlocked the connecting door, Ianto close behind her and paused long enough for the lights to turn on. He was aware of Andy and Jamie following behind him but hanging back a little bit, as if afraid of what he was going to do or say. Without being asked, Mel moved behind the counter and selected a sealed test tube from a wooden rack. She silently held it out to Ianto who took it carefully and held it up to the light.

She was right when she had said it was tiny. Ianto had to squint to get a better look at it through the rounded glass. If he held it at the right angle, he thought he could just about make out the tiny flashing red light. It was certainly doing something.

"What did you scan it with?" he asked the medic, lowering the tube and blinking to try and rid his vision of black flashing images from staring directly into the ceiling light.

"This," Mel handed over a handheld device, the size of an old Nintendo Gameboy. It had a large screen with a steady green lining moving across the centre of it. Ianto ran it over the test tube and the green line jumped up like a heart monitor on overdrive. He moved it off and the line went static. "It's either sending or receiving a signal or some sort," Mel explained pointing to the line. "Hence why I labelled it a transmitter."

Ianto didn't point out that if it was receiving a signal, it wasn't a transmitter and pulled the lid off the test tube so he could tip the small device into his hand. He placed the test tube down and held it between his thumb and forefinger. It was very light. He peered at it closely. At first it looked like it was completely sealed, then he saw a tiny line running around the middle.

"What are you thinking?" Mel finally asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"How to dismantle the signal it's sending or receiving and maybe rewire it for personal use..." Ianto said, thoughtfully, not really paying attention to what he was saying.

"What personal use?"

"Huh...?" Ianto blinked and looked at Mel.

"You said you were thinking of re-wiring it for personal use. I was wondering what exactly." She explained, toying nervously with the edge of her jacket, knowing she needed to take that advice her friends and family had been giving her for years and think before she spoke.

Ianto met her gaze evenly, "I'm wondering if I could connect it up to our computers and enhance the communication software to send out a signal looking for Jack." He heard a quickly covered up sigh from the room behind him and ignored it, turning his attention back to the small alien device.

IIIII

Some hours later, Ianto rubbed his eyes as they refused to stay focused on the minute transmitter in front of him. He had connected it to his computer using what computer knowledge he had and used their software to redirect the signal out into the ether. He had cancelled the original signal completely, essentially leaving the tiny piece of equipment dead. The blinking red light had turned out and Ianto had to hope that whatever or whoever it was drawing to Earth had been deterred. Using a powerful magnifying glass and a pair of very delicate tweezers he had swiped from Mel's precious autopsy room, he had carefully added in three tiny wires which would allow him to control the device and its signal from a remote computer. Essentially, he added a blue tooth receiver into the transmitter which he protected from outside interference by using his computer and some intricate password software.

He knew he should go home. He had practically forced Mel out of the door an hour earlier, insisting he would soon follow. He had lied. Although at the time he hadn't meant to. He wanted some peace. He just wanted to send out one signal, to see if his efforts were fruitful. If it failed, he would call it a night and lock up and take another shot at it the next day.

Rubbing his eyes harshly, Ianto yawned and stretched before pressing the 'enter' key on his keyboard. This was going to be different. He had turned on the computer's microphone and was planning on broadcasting a wide signal to any ships or receiving devices within a certain radius of Earth. He wasn't looking for Jack's vortex manipulator. He was looking for Jack himself. He pressed a record button so he could leave his message repeating itself.

"Um... hello?" Ianto felt very stupid all of a sudden as his computer confirmed the signal was running strong. He hadn't thought through what he was going to say. "My name is Ianto Jones. From Earth. I am looking for a human going by the name of Captain Jack Harkness. If someone with that name is travelling with you or you know of them, please return this signal. Thank you."

He set the message to play back. Wincing at his stammer at the start and half wishing he had taken the time to start over. He glanced at the clock and grimaced when he saw it was pushing 3:30am. He decided to give it until 4:00am. Then he would turn it off and leave. He didn't want the message playing when he wasn't in the office, only when he was there to take any replies. If he got any.

IIIII

Jack was woken up by someone shaking his shoulder. He blinked up into a bright torchlight shining directly into his face and winced as it sent a spark of pain through his retina's thanks to the sharp contrast to the darkness his eyes had been accustomed to whilst he slept.

"Jack," came his name. "Jack, you needed. Captain needs."

Jack translated the broken English and pushed himself up until he was sitting on the edge of the bed. He was naked from the waist up, choosing to sleep in only his trousers. He thanked the messenger who left his room. He didn't know who it had been, their figure hidden behind the light. His t-shirt was in a crumbled ball on a small wooden chair next to his bed and he pulled it over his head, found he had it on backwards and twisted it before pushing his arms through the sleeves.

The ship was eerily silent as he made his way through to the cockpit of the ship. Dim lights lit up the corridor ahead of him and shadows hid every nook and cranny as he walked. Jack found himself wishing he had a weapon. His skin crawled with the lack of light and he told himself off. He was being silly. After what seemed an hour, when it was really only roughly ten minutes, Jack knocked on the door to the cockpit. He was invited in.

"Jack!" Came the excited greeting, "Jack, someone call for you."

"I'm sorry?" Jack frowned, completely confused and assuming he had misunderstood what he was being told.

"Call! Someone call for you!" The Captain seemed very excited and indicated the radio receiver and transmitter which was part of the ships control panel. There was silence for a few seconds and Jack was starting to grow impatient when he heard a voice.

""Um... hello? My name is Ianto Jones. From Earth. I am looking for a human going by the name of Captain Jack Harkness. If someone with that name is travelling with you or you know of them, please return this signal. Thank you."

"Ianto?" Jack gasped out loud. The Welsh boy was so dead if he had been keeping skills of this level from him! "Ianto! Can you reply?" He asked the Captain.

"Ya!" The alien pressed a button on the transmitter and invited Jack to step forward.

"Ianto?" Jack said, cautiously.

IIIII

Ianto jumped when he heard an unexpected sound. He lifted his head from his makeshift pillow and blinked, bleary eyed at the computer clock. 06:00. Ianto had allowed his head to rest on his folded arms on his desk for a few minutes but had been lulled into a relaxed state by the repeated message of his own voice. The new voice had dragged him out of his dreamworld.

"Hello?"

"Ianto?" Came the voice again. A voice Ianto recognised very well! Even if it was only soft. The signal wasn't as strong as he thought.

"Jack!" Ianto's voice was filled with joy and new energy.

"Oh gods, Ianto..." Jack voice filtered out through the speakers on his computer. Ianto could have wept.

"Where are you, Jack? Are you okay?" Ianto was worried the signal would cut out again.

"I'm okay. I'm on my way..." the signal cracked and Ianto missed the end of the sentence.

"Sorry? Say that again." Ianto found himself leaning forward as though it would make him hear Jack more clearly.

"I'm on my way home, Ianto. I'm coming back."

Ianto punched the air in joy.


	14. Chapter Fourteen

**Author's Note:** 'Nother long gap, 'nother apology, 'nother lack of real excuse. I've had this written for a while but just forgot :( I can't believe we're in flippin' August already! Where's the year gone? Feels like only yesterday we were covered in snow... Anyway, this is as far as I've got for the time being. I have got the next few chapters started but need to find motivation to write them properly. Suffering from serious writers block (boo) so this time, I'm apologising in advance. Love, Kal x

* * *

**A Chance in a Million**

**Chapter Fourteen**

"So how are you, Ianto?" Jack's voice echoed through the speakers on the computer. It had been almost a month since Ianto's homemade communication device had first worked. He spoke to Jack on an irregular basis now. They had yet to work out a way for Jack to make the call so it was a case of trying to plan calls, which didn't always work as Ianto was still a Torchwood employee and aliens didn't stop to consider the social lives of Torchwood employees. But it was certainly better than nothing. Their calls were getting longer and longer and Jack, as a lowly janitor, was pissing off the captain of his ship. At first it had amused Ianto that the great Captain Jack Harkness was a cleaner but then it pulled at his heart the effort his lover was making in order to return home.

"I'm doing okay..." Ianto bit his tongue to refrain from adding 'sir' to the end of his reply. He found talking on the phone to Jack made him nervous because he couldn't see the other man's facial expressions or reactions. He toyed with a pen on his desk. It was one o'clock in the morning and everyone else had gone home for the night.

There was a hesitation in Jack's voice, "are you sure?"

"I'm sure," Ianto smiled at the speakers. "Just tired."

"What time is it?"

"1AM."

"Go to bed, Ianto," Jack's tone became firm, but gentle.

"I'm okay," Ianto insisted, covering his mouth and turning away from the microphone to stifle a yawn. He rubbed his eyes and removed the tie which was hanging loosely around his neck. "I'm just finishing up some paperwork."

"Liar," Jack commented with a laugh.

Ianto stuck his tongue out at the speakers.

Gwen was now taking maternity leave. It had taken some persuasion (and force from Rhys' end) initially, but she now claimed to be enjoying staying at home with baby Haydn. Ianto was more or less pushed into taking over the leadership of Torchwood as the longest standing member. He didn't mind. It kept him busy, gave him an excuse to stay in the office late and come in early, avoiding the empty loneliness of his flat. He found sleeping hard, often lying on the top of his bed, above the sheets, letting his mind wander until he was either ready to cry or so aroused it hurt, depending on the direction of his thoughts. Sometimes, when aliens seemed to be raining from the sky, the Rift spitting out all sorts of debris, Ianto wondered how Jack had survived so many years of leading the fight for the human race. _Because he had to, _was the answer his mind more often than not gave him.

Then he'd wonder how long it would be before Jack returned to Earth. But every time he asked his currently very long distance partner, he got a sigh and a sad sounding "I don't know" in response.

Ianto was becoming frustrated.

"Ianto?" Jack's voice broke through his thoughts.

"Sorry?" Ianto had completely missed what Jack had said.

"Are you okay?" Jack sounded concerned.

"Fine, just tired," Ianto repeated, smiling at the speakers. "I guess I should get to bed after all."

"You should," Jack paused. After a few seconds Ianto wondered if the connection had severed. "I miss you, Ianto."

"Me too," Ianto replied, sensing Jack wanted to say more but was holding back.

"Sleep well."

"You too."

Ianto typed "End." into the computer and the call was terminated. He sat back in his chair and sighed, folding his hands behind his head and closing his eyes. How long was Jack's return to Earth going to take? He opened his eyes again and fixed them on the ceiling above him. He wondered what Jack would say when he saw the new Torchwood base and a grin tugged at his lips. Well, he did have that strange office fetish.

A noise from the other room of the Torchwood office made him sit up straight. A second thud came through the wall. Ianto instinctively reached for the gun in the top drawer of his desk, sliding it out silently. He knocked off the safety and quietly and smoothly, rose from his chair. There were no other sounds from the autopsy room but he was on full alert now, his tiredness gone as adrenaline kicked in. He crept across the floor, avoiding the squeaky floorboard in the middle of the room. His shoes made no sound and he breathed carefully through his mouth. It was like he wasn't even there. He pressed his back up against the wall next to the connecting door and, holding his gun across his chest, aiming the barrel at the door, he used his free hand to slowly turn the handle.

He counted to three, then threw the door open and moved into the doorway, his gun straight out in front of him.

Mel screamed.

"Shit!" Ianto gasped, lowering his gun quickly at the sight of his friend's shocked face. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry, I tried to be quiet, I knew you were working and, well, talking to Jack and I didn't want to disturb you but I dropped my book. I hoped you hadn't heard but clearly you did and..." Mel's babbling faded when Ianto placed his gun on the desk and brought up his right index finger to cover his lips in the universal "shush" motion.

"You scared me to death," Ianto told her, "I thought someone had broken in."

"I'm sorry," Mel sighed, "I didn't want anyone to know."

Ianto swept his gaze over the room and saw a blanket and a pillow on the small sofa in the corner, a bag at the foot of it and Mel's less then official working attire. She was sitting on a stool in a dressing gown and pink pyjama's.

"You're sleeping here?"

"I got evicted," Mel didn't meet his gaze.

"What? Why?"

"Oh, it wasn't my fault. My landlord decided he wanted the flat for his daughter. He gave me notice but we've been so busy I forgot to find someplace new. So I put my stuff into storage and temporarily moved in here." She shrugged, embarrassed.

Ianto didn't need to think twice.

"Why don't you move in with me?" He proposed. "I've got a spare room and god knows I could do with the company."

"Oh, I couldn't!" Mel exclaimed, although the excitement in her eyes gave away her intent on accepting his invitation.

"You could," Ianto said. "Pick up your stuff and you can come with me now."

"Thank you," said Mel, her excitement spreading to a wide smile.

IIIII

High above the atmosphere of Earth, a space ship hovered, using invisibility shields to avoid being detected by the many satellites in orbit around the planet below. It was using the minimum power to stay in roughly one position, whilst it inhabitants began to plot. It had been following a signal through space, leading it to its destination when all of a sudden the signal had faulted and cut out, leaving them blind. Fortunately, for the owners of the ship, their sophisticated computer software was able to trace a rough path following the dead signal for a little while longer. It had planted them above the orb known as The Blue Planet and now they had to decide if this was where they needed to be, or if they needed to move a planet or two over.

In the centre of the ship was a huge room, what might be called a conference room on Earth, and in it sat a number of slimy, brown creatures with sloppy tails which trailed along the floor behind them when they moved. They had been following the signal for a reason and didn't want to make any mistakes now they were essentially flying blind.

Around the edges of the room patrolled several large dog like creatures, huge wings sprouting from their backs. They would push themselves off, fly the parameter before coming back down to run a few steps before doing it again. They were the pets of the aliens. They were restless. But the aliens had more pressing issues to contend with.

One of the flying dogs growled as the door to the room slid open. In strode the largest of the alien creatures. It was at least two feet taller and a foot wider than the others. It moved with purpose and determination. It's slimy, wet, skin was smoother, more sleek than the others.

This was the leader of The Fryre. And it was its job to work out what they were going to go about descending to Earth.


End file.
